Our Story
I moved 3 countries to find what my engineering degree never gave me.
From self-taught scripts in India to winning a MongoDB hackathon in London — this is the story of why EmberGround exists.
Chapter 1
The India Years
I am a Nepali citizen who moved to India for Computer Science, chasing practical engineering over theory. I arrived with huge expectations — and left the classroom with none of them met.
What did I do instead? I taught myself. YouTube, Google blogs, random tutorials. I wrote scripts — never full projects — because shipping something real alone took months. There was no mentor to ask. No community to push me.
“I wrote scripts — never full projects — because shipping something real took months alone.”
But I kept going. By 2022, skills still mattered enough that I got hired despite the gap. That was the beginning — but not the answer.
Chapter 2
The Industry Proof
Working at the cutting edge of Indian tech taught me the difference between “it works” and “it scales.”
LLM Mastery
Built India's first indigenous conversational AI in 2023 — a full system, not an API wrapper.
Research Papers
Published 2 research papers on distributed systems and high-throughput AI architectures.
OLA Electric
Core engineering at India's leading EV tech firm, from startups to big tech.
4 Years Industry
Intense engineering cycles that forged a perspective on what mentorship should actually be.
Chapter 3
The London Awakening
I moved to London for my MSc in AI. And I was shocked — not by the lectures, but by the culture. Hackathons every weekend. Workshops where companies gave you their tech stack to build with. Pitches where strangers became collaborators.
People helped with open hearts. Even startups and big tech companies sponsored builders — not with cash, but with real tools to ship.
“The best engineers aren't the ones who know the most. They're the ones who have a community that pushes them to ship.”
MongoDB Winner
1st place at MongoDB.local London 2026
Founder House USA
Invited to residency for startup building
Chapter 4
The Realization
Standing at the pinnacle of tech in London, I looked back. The tools, the mentors, and the community I found abroad should have been accessible at home. If I had this ecosystem at 21, I wouldn't have spent years catching up.
That was the thought that wouldn't leave me. So I decided to build it — not in London, not in San Francisco, but in Nepal and India, where the struggle began and where the builders are waiting.
Vision & Manifesto
What We Believe
EmberGround is built on convictions forged through 3 countries, 4 years of industry, and one undeniable truth.
Ship over Score
Every Build Challenge ends with a live URL and a GitHub repo. No certificates for completion — only recognition for contribution.
Community over Isolation
One mentor hosts Office Hours and reaches 50 students. Recorded sessions reach 500 more. Private tutoring reaches one.
South Asia is World-Class
Our engineers are not behind — they're disconnected. Give them the network, the tools, and the mentors, and they outship anyone.
Chapter 5
The Mission
EmberGround is the community I needed at 21. I'm building it for the builders coming next.
Real Tools
Students build with Cursor, OpenAI, Anthropic, and MongoDB — the same AI stacks that power Silicon Valley startups.
Real Mentors
Engineers from Google, Amazon, and OLA who review your architecture, not your attendance sheet.
Real Community
City nodes, hackathons, and ambassador-led events across Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kathmandu, and Chitwan.
The People Behind This
The mentors you'll work with ship code at companies you know.
Daud Ibrahim
Founder & AI Engineer
ex-OLA Electric | LLM Researcher | MongoDB Hackathon Winner
Rahul Kumar
Applied Scientist
Amazon | IIT Patna
Divyansh Rajput
Senior Data Scientist
NeuroDiscovery AI | Ex-Krutrim | Ex-OLA | IISc Bangalore '22
Palash Kamble
Senior Data Scientist
DP World | Ex-Ola Krutrim | IISc Bangalore
Pranav Taneja
Software Engineer
Google | ML Compilers
Mentor photos coming as profiles are completed.
Building with the Best
You won't learn “about” these tools. You'll build with them.
You don't need to move 3 countries to find your community.
The ecosystem I discovered in London is coming to the cities where you already live. Join the builders who ship.
hello@emberground.com